Spooky California: Tales Of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, And Other Local Lore

by S.E. Schlosser, Paul G. Hoffman (Illustrator)

Pull up a chair or gather round the campfire and get ready for thirty creepy tales of ghostly hauntings, eerie happenings, and other strange occurrences in California. Set in the Golden State's big cities, oceanside towns, rugged mountains, and sparsely populated deserts, the stories in this entertaining and compelling collection will have readers looking over their shoulders again and again.

California's folklore is kept alive in these expert retellings by master storyteller S. E. Schlosser and in artist Paul Hoffman's evocative illustrations. Readers will meet the Queen of Death Valley, cheer on the ghost who haunts his claim-jumping murderer, look out for a blood-hungry rolling head, learn about the sea monster of Monterey Bay Canyon, and hear otherworldly voices from the Pacific Ocean--or simply feel an icy wind on the back of their necks on a warm California evening. Whether read around the campfire on a dark and stormy night or from the backseat of the family van on the way to grandma's, this is a collection to treasure.

Genres: Paranormal, Folklore, Horror, Ghosts, Nonfiction, Short Stories, History

264 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2005

About the author

Author S.E. Schlosser has been telling stories since she was a child, when games of "let's pretend" quickly built themselves into full-length stories. A graduate of the Institute of Children's Literature and Rutgers University, she also created and maintains the website AmericanFolklore.net, where she shares a wealth of stories from all 50 states, some dating back to the origins of America.

(source: Amazon)

Reviews

[Mir]

I got this book looking for local ghost stories. Real ones. Schlosser doesn't provide any citations (although there is a bibliography) so I don't know if she made them up or got them from somewhere, but they read much more like short stories in the style of tale tales than actual legends. For one thing, the ones I read were all in first person point of view with the same narrative voice. Including ones that were supposed to be from over two hundred years ago!

I'd maybe recommend this for a younger reader who liked vaguely supernatural stories. It definitely wasn't what I was looking for.

[Elyse · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories are fun enough, not especially scary, probably meant for younger readers. I picked this up looking for California legends, and though the book notes the area the stories are from, there is no additional information about what era the story is from, where the tale comes from, if it’s a local myth, a personal account, infamous ghost story, or complete fairy tale. The bibliography gives some ideas but I will have to keep hunting for the kind of collection I’m looking for.

[☮ morgan ☮ · Rating 3 out of 5]

"That was the wrong attitude to have if he was going to survive this adventure"

There are thousands of cool hauntings and ghost stories in California, but most of these are pretty lackluster and repetitive. Some of the stuff included didn't sit right with me. Overall it was alright.

[Loren · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations are the best part of this book, truly spooky and yet childlike, like the images from a Howard Pyle book. While those would have been careful line drawings, these are blocky, more reminiscent of woodcuts. If I wasn't so hard up for shelf space, I would keep the book for them.

The stories are just okay. They're presented as fairy tales, told in the first person (generally, but not always). I would have preferred if they had been told as tales with references or tellers attached. Where did the author hear these stories? Are other versions available? My favorite part of the text is her list of references in the back. Looks like an awesome reading list.

One of the tales early on struck me as odd. Purported to be set in San Francisco, the main character of the Japanese ghost story "Vengeance" is "samurai warrior" Kane. It's hard for me to believe that a real samurai would have abandoned his country after Admiral Perry came, unless it was in disgrace. The historical dates just don't work out. If he's a disgraced samurai -- or feels he was disgraced by the coming of the West -- why would he come to the West? Also, his wife is called Ishi (like the last Yahi, whose brain was a source of contention until the Smithsonian gave it up), instead of the more feminine Ichigo. Ishi is a strange name for a Japanese.

As a story itself, "Vengeance" is a creepy Japanese ghost story. The author's additions took me away from it. I wanted to check her sources. That kind of wrecked the mood.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished this book in two days. It's been years since I read a book this quickly. I found it to be okay--not horrible, but not great either. This is something I would have enjoyed at the beginning of my ghost-story reading episode, when I was young. The stories were entertaining, but predictable. They were not exactly stories of current hauntings, but more about the history of a particular place. I would recommend this to someone who might want to visit California for the first time, but not for someone who has grown up here. Overall, it was okay.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is okay

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spooky, strange and even some funny stories. Also some interesting legends.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grabbed this one because both the title and the cover caught my eye. I thought it would be filled with stories by real people telling about their supernatural encounters.

Of the 38 stories in this book, however, only like 2 of them were based on real things. The Winchester Mystery house and the Roosevelt hotel where it's said that Marilyn Monroe has been seen there walking the halls and appearing in mirrors.

Then there's a well-known legend or two, such as Llorona and Bigfoot. Everything else just seemed super made up. Even though each story read like a re-counted story, it just seemed too, well, fiction, to seem like it might have actually happened to anyone. Then there's a story in there about Sharon Tate before her murder that didn't seem real at all.

Other than all that, though, it was great read! There were a few really sad stories and others that made me think what the f was that?! Loved most of it. Will probably be one I re-read every year, most likely in Octorber!

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little read. It's neat to learn of lore from my state. Though, I gotta say, this is definitely a work of fiction that I found in non-fiction/paranormal, where it really doesn't belong. I also think the author pulled from other books for these tales. I tried googling several of them and couldn't find any references for most of them. So yeah, cute read, definitely fiction, don't expect reality.

[Honey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not especially spooky. I’d say maybe 5 or less stories were actually spooky. However, lots of old legends that are still interesting when tied to a location.

Nothing special though. I’d say nice for light reading that’s low on expectations. Even as a book for historical legends, it doesn’t quite meet the mark for me.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you’re looking for detailed information on the locations and the origins of each story, well, you’re not going to find it in these stories. What you will find is a collection of well-written stories that are entertaining accompanied by gorgeous illustrations. Overall, I did enjoy reading this book.

[Miriam Villazón Valbuena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointing. The stories are short and sometimes not scary at all. However, I’m reading people’s complaints about the lack of resources for the stories. After reading the one about the Winchester family, I gotta say this is actual lore from the area.

[Raye · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this on a camping trip while visiting Calico Ghost Town. It was the perfect boom for such a trip. Very fun with a variety of legends. A couple of them I was familiar with. If you love cryptids,ghost stories and legends then you'll like this.

[Brian Rosser · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book should be called "Stinky California", because it stunk. The tales and spirits that inhabit these pages have been stripped of all their suspense, chills and thrills by the author.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and different. They could have done more I feel.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad! Very hard to rate a collection of stories. Some of the tales were great, others not so much. I liked Part One a lot better than Part Two. Still glad I read it!